There’s controversy in every area of life these days, isn’t there? Even when you’re looking for an air purifier for your home, it seems you can’t escape it. The ionic type of air purifier is one of the latest developments in the world of air purifiers.
An electric charge to air molecules is the mechanism used by this air ionizer to help clear the air. In other words, ionizing them. The dirt in the air are attracted to the air molecules, in the same mechanism as dust are attracted to a tv screen or monitor. Dust in the air is being pulled towards the purifier’s electrodes.
So…this is a good thing, isn’t it? That’s exactly what you want, right? That the unwanted particles in the air should be pulled out of it, to make it more clean and breathable?
But also, controversies begin here. The problem is that when extra ions are attracted to oxygen molecules (and remember that air has a large percentage of oxygen), they create ozone. And ozone is extremely toxic, except at very low levels.
It’s true that ozone can kill bacteria in the air. but it should be highly concentrated that while it kills bacteria, it could also be harmful to us. It could cause lung problems and worse, it could cause harm and damage to our brain cells.
If ozone is present in the air in a higher concentration than 80 parts per billion (that is, 80 particles in every billion air particles), you can start sneezing, coughing, and wheezing after 8 hours. A small increase in ozone levels could already aggravate asthma attacks and could even increase death risks.
Consumer Reports did tests on several different ionizing air purifiers just after the turn of the century, and found that the majority of them failed to meet the upper safety limit of 80 parts per billion, when it came to ozone levels. One big problem of the testers was there were no actual standards for ozone levels imposed by the government. The Environmental Protection Agency only regulates outdoor air, and since these purifiers are not medical devices, the Food and Drug Administration didn’t regulate them indoors either, at least at the time the tests were done.
One more complain regarding ionizers is that not only it could produce ozone, but it could also produce a mixture of oxygen and nitrogen which is commonly known as ‘laughing gas’.
By now you might be thinking that this whole business just seems too complicated – and even too risky – to consider going with an ionizer for an air purifier. But even though Consumer Reports found negative results for almost all the available products, they did find that a couple worked very well. You really need to do a lot of research so that you could find the best purifier for your home. This kind of purifier is still being improved.
Or if you’d prefer, perhaps you’d like to use a different kind of air purifier for a while. Just until all those kinks and standards are finally ironed out.
Learn more about the Ionic Pro Turbo Air Purifier